Be Kind For Everyone You Meet Is Fighting A Hard Battle

Not so long ago one of my friends finished his email with what I will refer to as words of wisdom, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Which is of course the famous words of wisdom by the great Greek philosopher Plato.

These words got me to thinking about myself and how I sometimes treat other people, especially when I’m in a bad mood or I perceive myself to have been wronged by someone in some way. Lets face it, most of us don’t really care about what’s happening in other peoples life’s, the issues they are dealing with or the battles they are going through.

Just the other day I was sitting on another delayed train on London Underground , because someone decided to end their life by throwing themselves in front it. It got me to thinking, especially about my own reaction, as well as the reaction from numerous people around me. Lets just say there was a lot of cussing and bad moods because peoples life’s where held up for a short period of time, because someone couldn’t fight life’s battles anymore.

I may add my own reaction was for once, one of pity, sympathy and why. For someone to throw themselves in front of a fast moving train, they know they aren’t going to come back from it, it is going to be the end. But why or who this person was I will never know, but what I do know is that it is a terrible waste of life.

So the next time you are sitting on the tube and you hear that it has been delayed for a few minutes because someone has stopped fighting life’s battles, instead of blasting off your mouth about being held up, be kind in your thoughts towards that person.

When I look back on my own life, it saddens me how many good people I knew from School, work, friends, or the gym that have died due to the evil of turning to drink or drugs to deal with life and its problems. Some of them it was down to work stresses, past life experiences or relationship breakups, or possible moments of madness.

I fortunately have a couple of good friends who made it through the darkness and got their life’s on track, but it was a close thing between life and death for them. But it really emphasises the point to me that taking ones life and living can be nothing more than a split second and one act of madness.

Even in my own case, I personally witnessed how easy life can be taken away, when I nearly drowned in Barbados, a long story, which I will surely write about one of these days. The long and short of the story is that two of us were 4 feet from the shore having fun, when we were dragged under the water, eventually surfacing 50 feet from shore. The point that I’m trying to make is that things can happen in someone’s life in an instant, which can dramatically change the course of that persons life.

I know at times that living in London can seem like and be the loneliest place in the world for some people, especially for people that are alone or don’t have family or friends to talk too. I suppose even those that have all the support in the world can also hit rock bottom and they are ending their life’s without anybody knowing there was even a problem in the first place. What is the answer, I wish I knew.

Just last week I was in the local Supermarket getting a few things, the place was packed and the queue was long, nothing new their I suppose. The guy at the till shouted for me to come to the till, bearing in mind that the woman he had just served had about 4 big bags, as well as 3 kids, hadn’t moved away yet and it was impossible to get past her, I ignored him. He shouted on me a second and third time to come to the till. Which I then very loudly gave the guy a piece of my mind.

Which basically involved me saying to the checkout operator, “please kind sir, but how can I get to the till, until she has moved out of the way”, my response wasnt exactly like that, as I swore a wee bit, as well as talking loudly and aggressively. When I got to the till to be served by the guy who was little and in his 50’s, I noticed he was physically shaking with fear and he looked like he was sweating like crazy from the stresses of serving so many people. When I left the shop and got home and thought about things, I felt ashamed and disappointed by my disgusting behaviour.

My new motto is I don’t hold any grudges, never seek revenge, retribution, shout at people, or show anger or resentment towards anybody, even bus drivers and people who drive through red lights. I have in the past personally being responsible for all of the aforementioned and what did it achieve for me, I will tell you what a few extra grey hairs, (not that I have many) and absolutely nothing else.